Kavarian Attack Cruiser
Origin: Kavarian Imperium A long lived design, Kavarian attack cruisers are known for their above avarage sublight and FTL performance. On nearly all variants, a larger than average number of drive plates are located in the tail section. The extra plates provide increased levels of propulsion when traveling at FTL. Because of this these vessels are capable of flying much farther and faster than most other starships before it becomes necessary to return to real space. The original design underwent a longer than average period of testing and evaluation, much to the annoyance of the Kavarian Imperium's Exploratory Committee. Unsurprisingly there was initially interest in using the ship in a long range exploration role. If properly modified the ships could have easily filled that role and perhaps even excelled at it. Unfortunately financial politics delayed its introduction by several decades. After the disastrous first contact with the Rovinar, the Imperium's government decided to bulk up the military fleets with large numbers of cheaper shorter ranged Star Cruisers. Some of the new Attack Cruisers were built as well but all of them were military versions to act as a quick reaction force and no explorer version was released. It's believed the Terrans actually found rough technical specifications on the first generation attack cruisers before they even entered production. A crewman's datapad with a civilian documentary covering development delays survived a crash landing in the 2107 incident. Unable to fully translate the article and with no scale references it was mistaken for a starfighter schematic. This is believed to have influenced development of the TF-27 Starfighter series which bears more than a passing resemblance. The First Series of Attack cruisers produced by the Imperium used the same conventional sublight drives as most other Factions. Four cylindrical drive assemblies were more than enough to propel the comparatively light weight ships. Desiring increased levels of engine output for the already fast ships an entirely new drive system was developed. Second Series ships would use a rectangular exhaust broken up by a number of verticle slats. Each of these slats contained specially calibrated repulsor systems which would serve to accelerate the drive plasma as it left the engine. Technical problems with the advanced engines delayed production of the second series until the Dominion began its invasion of Kavarian space. When the Imperium fell the Iratar corporation stole as many of the prototypes as possible and fled to Terran space, but were unable to destroy the shipyards before House fleets captured them. To reduce the effectiveness of a future insurgency all First Series Attack Cruisers and the less advanced Star Cruisers were scrapped by the Dominion. As their weapons and conventional sublight drives were compatible with the latest Dominion starships, most of the materiel was later used in the production of House corvettes and Light Cruisers. All present day Kavarian Attack Cruisers and Battlecruisers use drive systems based off the Second series starships. A-Type A stripped down light weight design, the earliest Attack Cruisers were intended to keep as much power diverted to their engines as possible. Hardly anything was to be spared for weapons systems meaning their primary means of engagement would be their four torpedo launchers. A single phase cannon turret was placed at the tip of the ship's tail to offer some small protection in the aft arc. The military soon found that the designers had underestimated the ship's power systems and that enough could be spared for additional weapons or shields. Because of this most A types were either converted in the field or hastily modified before they left spacedock. A small number of A-types use the extra power reserves to mount upgraded shields, sensors and communications arrays. These were sometimes used as command ships. Production of the baseline A-Type was discontinued before the end of the First Human-Kavarian War. Some of the remaining hulls were later used in Second Series Attack Cruiser development. B-Type A hasty field modification of the A-Type, the B model added a single spinal mount phase cannon to the ship's belly. Handling and flight characteristics of the ship changed slightly because of this, though most crews agreed it was for the better. The added firepower proved useful in exploiting damage done by torpedo hits, initially making the modification a popular one. No second series versions were built, though some groups may make use of damaged C-Types, effectively operating them a B-Types due to lack of replacement parts. With only one extra cannon B-types have some spare power reserves that can be set aside for additional shield generators. C-Type Unsatisfied with the addition of only a single extra cannon, the C-Type carries a pair of spinal mount phase cannons. Like the B-Type the C began life as a field modification but soon entered mass production. Within a decade of its introduction the C-type made up close to half of all Attack Cruisers being produced and maintained its popularity because of their cannons higher chance of penetrating weak Terran shields. The C and E types became the main designs of the Second Series Attack Cruiser program. Second Series versions of the C-type remained in production into the Faction Wars. Some are still in service with Reserve units of the Second Imperium and Iratar Security Forces, along with Mercenaries and some Houses of the Dominion. D-Type As B and C-type field modifications began to see increasing use, starship crews and captains started looking for any means of adding firepower. Supply was unable to match demand for spinal mount cannons limiting the number of ships that could be upgraded to C-types in the field. The solution was to use spare phase cannon turrets from damaged Star Cruisers. The D-Type combines an underside spinal mount cannon with a topside turret offering good coverage. Crews commonly bring the topside turret to bear when they're unable to line up the spinal mount gun. This mixed combat profile while offering some more flexibility was considered undesirable by many. Few were produced beyond of field modifications. While no D-types were produced as part of the Second Series, emergency repairs in the field can sometimes result in their creation of one if there are insufficient parts for a C or E. E-Type As B and C-type field modifications began to see increasing use, starship crews and captains started looking for any means of increasing firepower. Supply was unable to match demand for spinal mount cannons limiting the number of ships that could be upgraded to C-types in the field. The solution was to use spare phase cannon turrets from damaged Star Cruisers. The E-Type mounts a pair of phase cannon turrets in addition to the existing tail emplacement, one on the topside and another on the bottom, offering full 360 degree weapon coverage. Ironically the E-Type design actually predates the A-Type. The development team chose to strip the extra energy weapons to improve performance before production began. E-types eventually became the second most popular version of the ship to enter mass production, with the C-Type maintaining a narrow lead due to their cannon's superior shield penetration. The C and E types became the main designs of the Second Series Attack Cruiser program. Second Series versions of the E-type remained in production into the Faction Wars. Some remain in service with Reserve units of the Second Imperium, Iratar Security Forces, along with Mercenaries and some Houses of the Dominion. F-Type G-Type H-Type I-Type J-Type K-Type Derivatives Terran "Red Star" Custom "EX-K" Afterburner Testbed ( Dremine Heavy Industries ) EX-K EC-K Electronic Warfare Platform (Iratar / DHI) EC-K Category:Starships Category:Attack Cruisers Category:Kavarian